PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — More than 4,000 shells were loaded onto barges at the Philadelphia Navy Yard Sunday in preparation for the New Year’s Eve fireworks shows.

This is the 24th year for the midnight fireworks and the fifth for the 6 p.m. show, which Jodie Milkman of the Philadelphia Waterfront Development Corporation says has become even more popular than the midnight version.

“What we thought would be a family tradition has turned into something broader,” Milkman says, “and greater than we could have ever expected.

The fireworks will be visible for miles, but they’re best-viewed with music. Almost any place with a waterfront view is holding an event tied to the shows, and speakers will be set up in several public places so you can hear the synchronized soundtrack as you watch, including Camden’s Wiggins Park, Penn’s Landing and Sugarhouse Casino, the sponsor. Milkman is expecting a large turnout.

Fireworks are the most demographically diverse programming we can do,” she says. “They appeal to senior citizens, children, everybody in between. There’s nobody who doesn’t love a great fireworks show.”